CLINTON – Three Clinton High seniors have been accepted into the Mass. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s newly launched High School Senior Internship in Education Program (HSSIEP).
Riley Michaud, Desarae Tencati and Anna Zoltany, all working within Clinton Public Schools as interns through Senior Project, will be paid for their internships and will receive additional supports provided through this state-funded program.
These students will be the first paid interns in the history of Senior Project.
The overarching goals of HSSIEP are to accelerate the growth of the teacher pipeline in the state with a focus on increasing diversity in the profession and improve educational outcomes for young people despite the pandemic.
Specifically, HSSIEP will support paid internships in the field of education to high school seniors, provide them with five hours of professional new teacher training, and will include a peer support and advocacy community of interns from five other Central Mass. high schools.
The program will largely rely on current work-based learning structures, such as Clinton High’s Senior Project class, for implementation. The program will run from March 1 through May 7.
DESE has partnered with MA Workforce Boards to decentralize the process; Clinton High will be working with the North Central Workforce Board in Leominster. Staff at Clinton High School has a long time relationship with Kelley French, deputy director of the North Central Workforce Board, who is the liaison.
“We are very much looking forward to this fantastic opportunity for our students,” said Ellen Welsh, who runs the Senior Project class at Clinton High School.
